‘Let your light shine,’ says the Lord:—­if I have none, the call cannot apply to me; but I must bethink me, lest, in the night I am cherishing about me, the Lord come upon me like a thief.  There may be those, however, and I think they are numerous, who, having some, or imagining they have much light, yet have not enough to know the duty of letting it shine on their neighbours.  The Lord would have his men so alive with his light, that it should for ever go flashing from each to all, and all, with eternal response, keep glorifying the Father.  Dost thou look for a good time coming, friend, when thou shalt know as thou art known?  Let the joy of thy hope stream forth upon thy neighbours.  Fold them round in that which maketh thyself glad.  Let thy nature grow more expansive and communicative.  Look like the man thou art—­a man who knows something very good.  Thou believest thyself on the way to the heart of things:  walk so, shine so, that all that see thee shall want to go with thee.

What light issues from such as make their faces long at the very name of death, and look and speak as if it were the end of all things and the worst of evils?  Jesus told his men not to fear death; told them his friends should go to be with him; told them they should live in the house of his father and their father; and since then he has risen himself from the tomb, and gone to prepare a place for them:  who, what are these miserable refusers of comfort?  Not Christians, surely!  Oh, yes, they are Christians!  ‘They are gone,’ they say, ’to be for ever with the Lord;’ and then they weep and lament, and seem more afraid of starting to join them than of aught else under the sun!  To the last attainable moment they cling to what they call life.  They are children—­were there ever any other such children?—­who hang crying to the skirts of their mother, and will not be lifted to her bosom.  They are not of Paul’s mind:  to be with Him is not better!  They worship their physician; and their prayer to the God of their life is to spare them from more life.  What sort of Christians are they?  Where shines their light?  Alas for thee, poor world, hadst thou no better lights than these!

You who have light, show yourselves the sons and daughters of Light, of God, of Hope—­the heirs of a great completeness.  Freely let your light shine.

Only take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them.

THE RIGHT HAND AND THE LEFT.

Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your father which is in heaven....  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; that thine alms may be in secret; and thy father which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee.—­Matthew vi.  I,3.